Last February 2010, I wrote a blog when I observed some nurses re-using syringes. I couldn’t believe that a nurse would actually re-use a syringe but it happened and I was there to see it. Here’s my blog post in case you missed it…“Single Use Only” I wanted to believe that it was an isolated…
I was on a 6am flight and like the rest of the passengers, l was sleeping. As the plane cruised at 30,000 feet and everyone sleeping on board, this announcement came over the PA system…“Is there a doctor on board?” Ok, even though I was just waking up, I knew what the announcement meant…someone on…
The long awaited update to the 2002 CDC Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter -Related Infections was released today April 1 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC). The 2011 guidelines outline steps to eliminate bloodstream infections in patients with intravenous catheters, which…
Nurses know that phlebitis is the inflammation of the vein and is considered an adverse patient outcome. Vascular access sites should be routinely assessed for signs and symptoms of phlebitis , as well as the severity of phlebitis. According to the Infusion Nurses Society(INS) Standards of Practice, a standardized scale that is valid, reliable, and…
Here are the results of the survey from a previous post “Take our survey: Standards of Practice”. Q1 Are you aware that there is a Standard of Practice for Infusion Nursing? n=75 Yes: 82.5% No: 17.65% Q2 If you are an RN, LPN or APN performing, administering, delivering IV/infusion therapy, do you think the…
It’s an interesting question and more interesting is how different nurses describe their documentation of an IV start. A few nursing colleagues on IVchat said: (thanks, twitter buddies) “created stamp for chart that identifies size, site, no. of attempts, time date and operator” (site meant 2 refer 2 the actual vein & location, if u…
On January 25, national IV nurse day, the Infusion Nurses Society (INS) announced the release of the revised 2011 Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice. This has been a long awaited document for infusion nurses and I am so happy to hear this news. So like a child on Christmas morning, I wait in great anticipation…
Here are replies to questions I received either on twitter or FB. I thought I’d blog about it in the spirit of sharing and learning. “What do you think about using “nitroglycerin” ointment to help find veins for IV starts?” There are literature supporting the use of nitroglycerin ointment for dilating veins prior to venipuncture…
I have numerous nursing colleagues with extensive background and years of experience in infusion nursing, infusion therapy, and vascular access who are now directly employed by entities defined by the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) as “commercial interest”. ANCC defines an entity that has a “commercial interest” as any proprietary entity producing health care goods…
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